


After the Ring **Fic Master-list**

by Flower_Crowns_and_Elvish_Songs (orphan_account)



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Adorable Frodo Baggins, Angst, BAMF Gimli, Crying, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gandalf Ships It, Implied Gimli/Legolas Greenleaf, M/M, Men Crying, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Gimli, Sam is a good husband, Thranduil's A+ Parenting, Where In Middle-Earth Is Gandalf?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-22 12:41:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21302234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Flower_Crowns_and_Elvish_Songs
Summary: AU where the fellowship decides to settle in Gondor to live in Minas Tirith after the war of the ring instead of going separate ways. Just a master-list of little fics and short stories about the fellowship's life in Gondor.Buckle up kiddos, knowing me, it's about to get angsty.***Requests open***
Relationships: Aragorn | Estel/Arwen Undómiel, Frodo Baggins/Sam Gamgee, Gimli (Son of Glóin)/Legolas Greenleaf, Éowyn/Faramir (Son of Denethor II)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 47





	After the Ring **Fic Master-list**

**Author's Note:**

> Oooooh lord, I totally should be working on Part 3 of 'Weakness', and I'm so close to finishing the chapter, but I was STRUCK with inspiration to make this trash instead, so please enjoy!

“G-ah!” 

A startled gasp followed by a momentary loss of breathing jerked the elf awake in breathlessness. He clutched the sides of his sheets ferociously. His breath came out in short bursts as he watched as Gimli slept soundly beside him, snoring every couple of breaths. An onslaught of frustrated tears blurred his vision as he felt his body, drenched with sweat. 

He could barely remember what the dream --nightmare-- was about. Only falling, disappointment, and the oncoming feeling of dread that gave him a sour taste in his mouth when he finally woke up.

“Legolas?” 

A soft, groggy voice from somewhere in the darkness around him caused a startled sob to escape his throat, his breath shuddering as he looked around to find the voice somewhere in the jet black room, sheeted with darkness. It sounded like one of the hobbits... Frodo?

“Are you alright?” the faint glow of the moonlight through the window showed the culprit to be, unsurprisingly, Frodo, his large eyes glistening with worry.

“I’m fine,” he mumbled, managing to say without his voice breaking. He wobbled up, barely trusting his legs, stepping past all of his friends sleeping soundly beside him in various spots on the wooden floor. 

Ignoring Frodo’s question and walking past him quickly, Legolas softly opened the door to the nice wooden cottage and swiftly shut it behind him and staggering across the balcony to the edge of the roof. Using his left foot first, he quickly climbed up on the roof and sat on the flattest surface of the roof, basking in the moonlight and the stars glittering above him. 

Elvish instincts never go away- no matter how long you’ve been away from--

A shred of guilt sliced through him like a sword. A near 2 years had passed since the destruction of the ring, and he had yet to return to Mirkwood to address his father--and his people--about the decisions he’d made. He sighed. Although he already knew exactly what Thranduil would say, he couldn’t help but feel a slight lingering feeling to tell his kin what had become of him. 

He could already feel his heartbreak at the thought of having to choose between his people and his new life. Maybe he didn’t have to if he just didn’t return to Mirkwood. Even if he did, what would he even say?

_ “Oh, hello Ada. Sorry I disappeared for years without a word! Also, I’m living in upper Minas Tirith among mortal men and I’m also engaged to a dwarf! How have you been?” _

He could already see the looks of horrors on his fellow elf’s faces. He could just hear the endless questions about why there was such a large, binding braid in his hair and what it represented. 

Maybe that’s what his dream was about. He couldn’t remember anything about it anyway, which may or may not be a good thing.

Normally he would be fine with just Gimli by his side at night. It had been fine for the past year and a half...But lately, his nightmares became worse and worse as the shock of the war slowly left him these past few years. He didn’t even want to think about what Gimli would think if he woke him up because of some silly dreams. It wasn’t fair to him. He deserved to sleep soundly.

Thank the Valar that Gimli was an extremely heavy sleeper.

Feeling tears of frustration build up in his eyes, he closed them softly and let the crisp, night breeze hit his face. He was surrounded by people that loved him, but he just felt alone. Just him and his worries. He and his problems. Him and his--

“There you are.”

The gentle voice nearly made the elf jump, but (barely) kept his composure to look behind him. Legolas frowned, peering around the roof. How in middle-earth did he…?

“Frodo...how did you get up here?” Legolas asked, surprised. Frodo shrugged, the carefree hobbit smiling softly.

“Never underestimate what a hobbit is capable of. Sam and I did survive Mordor, after all.” 

Legolas sighed, shaking his head and resuming his position on the roof, knees tucked into his chest. Maybe a sleepover wasn’t the best place for someone with a terrible time sleeping, but it was hard not to since everyone had agreed to be in the same place for once. 

They had planned these little “hangouts” once they had all agreed to spend a little more time in Gondor, and Legolas didn’t want to be the one person that flaked out. If he flaked, Gimli would most certainly flake too, no matter how much he loved spending time with everyone.

Frodo and Sam had packed up their stuff from their cute little Gondorian cottage in the rural area of Minas Tirith. “The ring-bearers deserve only the best” the people of Gondor had said once it was decided that Frodo and Sam were to stay in Gondor before making the long journey to the Shire. 

Merry and Pippin would stumble in with all of Middle-earth’s booze (which Gimli very much enjoyed), Aragorn would travel down from the castle and leave Faramir in charge whilst he took a small break once in a while, while they all crammed into a nice, secluded, wooden house in the Upper-town and had a nice night in once in a while. 

Gandalf was… where in Middle-earth was Gandalf? No one knew. He had left on some “trip” after Aragorn and Arwen were married and Aragorn was crowned king and hadn’t returned to Gondor since then. People say he’d turned up on the outskirts of Gondor, but the wizard was quite a mystery. 

He didn’t seem like a sleepover kind of guy, anyway.

Legolas was initially worried about the others; while Gimli was a heavy sleeper, he was worried about waking the others up. Thankfully, it seemed like everyone else was prone to sleep pretty soundly at night, and he had yet to wake anyone up. Legolas would think that everyone would be sleeping in safety and comfort after the hardships they had been through…but Frodo was never the same after that ring.

Curse those easily-awakened, ever-vigilant eyes.

“So you haven’t told him yet, I’m guessing?” the hobbit asked nonchalantly. Legolas felt his whole body freeze up. 

“What?” 

“Gimli. You haven’t told him about the nightmares, yet. Or anyone else. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be outside alone, would you?”

Legolas swallowed instinctively. How in Middle-earth did Frodo know about it? Oh well, that was a question for another late night, he supposed.

“No, I haven’t.” 

Frodo narrowed his large, glimmering eyes and inched a bit closer to him. The roof creaked a bit under the weight, and Legolas wondered for a moment if it would wake anyone else up, but reconsidered, as they all seemed to be snoring quite peacefully. 

“Why haven’t you told anyone?” the waning question split his heart in two, and he suddenly felt guilt gnaw away at him. He had been keeping things from the people he trusted most, wasn’t he? Did that make him a liar?

“It didn’t seem that important,” he mumbled half-heartedly, knowing what a stupid reply it was. Frodo unsurprisingly was not convinced. 

“All right, then. Keep your secrets.” Frodo replied, and Legolas swore he recognized that saying. Feeling the guilty feeling worsen, he sighed loudly and stared intently at his feet. 

“I was...I was scared...alright?” 

Frodo raised an eyebrow, not following. Legolas felt the heat rise to his cheeks as the silence between them became deafening. 

“Scared of what?”

Months of insecurities finally boiled over, and Legolas found himself spewing word vomit in place of proper sentences.

“That-that maybe Gimli wouldn’t love me anymore! That maybe he doesn’t deserve to be with someone who’s as messed up as me! Maybe I’m terrified that I’ll have to return to Mirkwood once everyone gets tired of me! Maybe I’m afraid of the fact that Gimli might just leave me, and maybe I’m scared--scared of everyone finding out just how  _ horrible _ I am!” the elf replied, snapping at the hobbit. Legolas barely noticed he was breathing rather heavily. 

“Sat-satisfied, hobbit?” he spoke in a shuddering breath. 

Frodo was silent for a moment before wrapping his arms around his shaking friend. Legolas didn’t even notice how hard he was shaking until Frodo grounded him with a hug, letting him bury his face into his chest and try to regain his composure again. Tears threatened to fall, but he ceased them to. He had to keep  _ some _ of his composure.

“Funny, knowing how long you’ve known Aragorn, I would guess that he would be the first one you would tell about all this stuff,” Frodo said in curiosity. Legolas pulled away from him for a moment in response.

He sighed, letting the breeze blow through his hair. “Aragorn seems...different. He’s more occupied with the kingdom, Arwen, the children he’s no doubt going to have very soon...he has more responsibilities now than to just put up with me.”

“Now whoever said that?” 

A familiar voice had them both jump to attention as Aragorn stood on the balcony below them, looking out at the scenery of his kingdom. 

“Evening Frodo, Legolas. What a beautiful night it is.” he turned and smiled up at the couple sitting on the roof, “Another nightmare, Legolas?”

Legolas practically fell off the roof. How the hell did Aragorn know? He glared at Frodo, who meekly shrugged. Aragorn walked towards the ivy wall where they got up to the roof and smiled. 

“Frodo hasn’t told me anything if you want to know. You’re not the only one with observational skills.” Aragorn chuckled, climbing up the wall in a couple of swift movements, “You’re practically an open book, Mellon nin.”

Legolas felt himself blush, wondering just how much Aragorn had heard. 

“How long have you been out here?” he stuttered, his heart beating a mile a minute. 

“Long enough to hear just about everything.” the king replied, crawling across the roof and sitting on the other side of the elf. Legolas felt dread fill him. Of course, he had heard everything.

“Mellon nin, this does not concern me, and I’ve been holding off on talking with you just in case things would resolve themselves. But clearly, they haven’t. Something is not boding well with you.”

Legolas stayed silent. 

“I would never forget about you, mellon.” His soft, understanding voice of his old friend caused him to lose his breath. It was ironic, he remembered being Estel’s comforting hand when he was a young child, still new to the world. Now he was a king. A king.

Why did that phrase sound so familiar? Then it hit him.

_ A king _ . He was supposed to take over Thranduil’s position as king of Mirkwood. He wasn’t a dubbed a prince for nothing. But it had been so long since he had returned to Mirkwood...was the arrangement still into play? Would Mirkwood still accept him as a king? Was he even ready? And the wedding, the engagement, would that even be possible anymore? Could he marry a non-elf if he was to be king? 

He knew the answer to  _ everything _ . He didn’t have to ask. 

A breath caught in his throat at the thought of it. Aragorn noticed the elf’s distress and called for Frodo to give the two of them a few minutes. The hobbit nodded understandingly. 

“Of course.” 

The elf and king sat on the edge of the roof as Frodo crept back inside the sleeping cottage, leaving the two of them alone. Silence followed deafeningly. Legolas felt his heart pound rapidly, awaiting what his friend was going to say. 

“You need to talk to Gimli.” he finally said. It was too gentle. 

“I know.” he choked back, barely trusting his voice. 

“And I need you to talk to me.” 

“I-I know...”

A desperate whimper escaped him as Aragorn enveloped him into a hug, and Legolas felt warmth fill him. Such a coldness had filled him since the absence of fighting in his life, and he hadn’t felt so safe in so long. 

“I know that things are hard right now, Legolas. Believe me, I do.” Aragorn said softly, grasping his friend and letting him bury his face into his cloak, “We can help. I can help. You just have to talk to us.” 

“I don’t want to go back..” was all the elf could whimper, his shaking arms crossed over his chest, his frame shaking like a hunted, wounded animal. 

“You don’t have to go anywhere. You can stay right here, Legolas. I promise you.” the king said reassuringly, but his cries only got louder. He had a feeling that he might have been talking about Mirkwood. Only his homeland provoked so much emotion out of him. Not necessarily  _ good _ emotion.

Eventually, the elf calmed down and cleared his throat, sitting up and out of Aragorn’s arms with a pained look on his face. 

“I’m sorry.” he sniffled, flicking away the last of his tears. 

“I cannot accept your apology, for you have nothing to apologize for, mellon nin.”

Legolas laughed dryly and smiled teary-eyed at his hands.

“Mr. Strider?”

Both looked down at the balcony to see Frodo had stepped outside holding a mug of something warm. Aragorn inquired the hobbit, who smiled warmly. 

“I hope I’m not intruding on anything, but I seemed to have woken someone up on the way in,” Frodo said sheepishly. Aragorn nodded understandingly and hopped down from the roof. 

“It’s about time we get off this roof then, isn’t it?” he gestured to Legolas, who grabbed his hand weakly and climbed down onto the balcony. The elf felt exhaustion take over his body, and he turned to the door to the cottage, freezing in his tracks. 

“Gimli.” 

The dwarf stared concerned at his fiance, and Legolas saw nothing but love in his eyes. Legolas felt the tracks that were still wet on his face, and he suddenly felt very self-conscious. 

Legolas was about to open his mouth, but Gimli just shook his head and pulled him into a warm hug. The thoughts that plagued him vanished just for that moment.

And Legolas felt nothing but love.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Woot woot. Told y'all it would be angsty. If you want anything about any specific characters set in this fic world, feel free to request in the comments and I'll consider it! 
> 
> Kudos and comments are very much appreciated, lovelies! I hope everyone is feeling wonderful today! 
> 
> ~Cherry


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